[centre][h2][color=7ea7d8]Lauren Jones[/color][/h2]
Interacting with: [@HecateProxy][@Solace][@LetMeDoStuff][@Ambra][/centre]


[color=gray]Gazing out at the other cadets, the raucous laughter of the older soldiers as they mingled with their young charges, Lauren was split between staying in the cabin and heading outside.  She wanted to be there, where the laughter and the cheer was, amongst the people she had spent the last six months with and whom she would be spending the next two and a half years with.  By the same token, the comfort and security of Mora called to her from further within the cabin, splitting her desires and needs.  Erring on what she knew, she began to turn back into the cabin when she heard movement and saw Mora pulling on her outdoor gear and walking towards her with sleepiness still falling away from her.

Her friend called out and she responded, waving awkwardly to Mora as the other girl joined her by the door and looked out at the cadets sitting around the raging bonfire.  Now that Mora was up, Lauren was more tempted to head outside and join the others and it must have shown on her face for Mora suggested that they do just that.  She seemed as awkward as Lauren felt, all her usual tells clearly visible to Lauren as she spoke.  For all the good it would do for them and their friendship, her confessions had driven a small wedge between them, erasing some of the easy familiarity that had become the bedrock of their closeness over the years.

[color=7ea7d8]"I'll follow, don't worry."[/color] She assured Mora then looked down at her feet, suddenly feeling the freezing air from outside penetrating even the thick winter socks she was wearing, and grinned back at her friend.  [color=7ea7d8]"A good idea, don't wait up.  These boots are a nightmare to put on."[/color] Heading back to her bed she struggled with the boots she had taken off not that long before, fastening the laces as tightly as she could and trying to ignore how damp they had become now that the snow they had been covered in previously was not melted.

Shrugging on her winter coat and making sure it was fastened tightly, she pushed her way out of the cabin and out into the cold air.  It was like a slap in the face, instantly sapping all heat away from her cheeks and any other exposed skin, with the sun now down the temperature had dropped further even though the snow had stopped falling except for the occasional flurry.  She approached the bonfire, catching Mora giving her a strange look, worry in her eyes plain even at that distance but she put it down to their earlier conversation.  How long would it be before she had recovered enough for that look to be gone, no longer hiding just beneath the surface?

One of the older soldiers spotted her and ambled over, a tankard in each hand, and offered her one with a toothless grin.[/color]

"Here you go, lass.  You don't want to be out in this cold without a bit of warmth in your belly!"

[color=Gray]He waited expectantly as she raised the tankard to her lips and took a long swig from it, feeling the spices and the rich flavour fresher her consciousness as the warmth flooded her body almost immediately.  Then she noticed the smell and nearly gagged, lowering the tankard with a shaky hand and looking up at the man who was nodding appreciatively at the now half full vessel, unaware of the shock she was experiencing. [/color] "Looks like you've had a taste before! Here, finish that one up and you can have this.  I'll get meself another one, we're used to the cold up 'ere but you kids need a bit of fire in you to keep going."

[color=gray]Lauren stared as he gestured with the other tankard he was holding, the man motioning for her to finish off the drink she was holding so that he could give her the second vessel.  She now realised what Mora had been trying to communicate to her but it was a bit late for that now.  She could feel tremors running down her body, somewhat disguised by the thick clothes belted around her.

[color=7ea7d8][i]Well, a couple of these can't be too bad, surely.  I mean, I'm not trying to get drunk... right?[/i][/color]

She swallowed the rest of the drink in her hand and exchanged the empty tankard for a full one, nodding her thanks and making her way towards the bonfire and the other cadets a little shakily.  The pangs of craving were beginning to hit her now that she had had a second taste, demanding more and more until she was sent spiralling into a deep sleep.  On the other hand, she felt guilt; even though she hadn't realised what she was being given it still flew in the face of the progress she had made that night, the support that Mora had shown her.

Forcing herself to act as normal as possible she walked past Olivia and Reese, the girl easing up against the reluctant boy, smiled at them despite herself, winking at them suggestively and then moving on.  She thought she could hear Grant singing dimly, although everything was blurring at the edges as she struggled with her cravings and panic and she couldn't be sure that she wasn't merely hallucinating.  After an age she made it to Mora's side and sat down with deliberate slowness and care and flashed a weak smile at her friend.

Turning her head back to gaze across the group her eyes fell on Grant whom she hadn't seen before, the bonfire having obstructed her view, and she could just make out a large red welt on the side of his face around his eye. Her brow furrowed and she passed her tankard to Mora, thrusting it into the girl's hands distractedly before making her way over to the giant sitting and sketching in the snow.

[color=7ea7d8]"Let me see your face."[/color] She ordered, firmly taking his head in her grasp and tilting it so that she could see the mark on his face a little better from the bonfire's light. [color=7ea7d8]"Did you fall or something? There's no cut but you're going to get some swelling there if you're not careful."[/color] She scooped up some snow and held it in front of him so that her message was clear.  [color=7ea7d8]"In the morning make sure you cool it down and wash it with some of this, fresh though.  Come to me if it gets itchy or overly sore, I might have some ointment or something that might help."[/color]

The distraction resolved, she turned back and headed over to sit once again by Mora.  Her earlier panic was fading a little, the brief reprieve and the absence of further drink in her hand giving her some security and dampening her cravings somewhat, although they still preyed at the edges of her will and she resisted the urge to snatch her drink back to sate her thirst.  She shivered slightly, despite the warmth from the bonfire, as a breath of cold air blew across the camp site and made the fire dance wildly for a brief moment.  

Out of habit, perhaps, she scooched closer to the other girl, shoulders and hips touching and forming a small block against the wind wrapping around them.  It took her time to realise that, in light of the knowledge Mora now had of her feelings, the action may come across as overly pressuring. She almost moved away but that would inevitably draw undue attention.  So she stayed, her face a little red and not just from the wind chill.

Aware of the acute awkwardness between them she strove to find a topic, a normal subject, and glanced around at the faces grouped around the fire. [color=7ea7d8]"Have you seen Jade? I hope she's not hiding away from everyone.  Although I don't see Sano either..."[/color][/color]